


Obstruction

by kandrona



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baseball, Alternate Universe - Human, Community: lands_of_magic, F/F, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Precognition, Quintuple Drabble, Sequential Drabbles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-19 12:50:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12410616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kandrona/pseuds/kandrona
Summary: Game day. First game of the season. Boreals at Flames.





	Obstruction

**Author's Note:**

> Written while watching game four of this year's NLCS.

Ruby adjusted her grip on her bat. She gritted her teeth and took a swing.

The ball flew past her at ninety miles an hour, hitting the padded backdrop and falling to the ground.

She narrowed her glare at the pitching machine, shifted her stance, and swung again.

A pop-up. Infield fly; she'd be out if this were for real.

This was no good. It was already late March, and Ruby definitely wasn't going to be the reason the Empire City Flames lost their first game of the season. She took a deep breath and readied herself once more.

—

Sapphire's eye was closed. The ball whizzed into her mitt.

"Swing and a miss, Lazuli," Jasper growled as Sapphire tossed the ball back to her. "Are you even _trying?_ "

Lapis Lazuli gritted her teeth and steadied her grip on her bat. "Just throw it, Jasper."

Sapphire's eye remained closed, but she could see the scene as plain as day in front of her. Jasper would throw high. Lapis would swing anyway. A ball would turn into strike three.

Sapphire's voice was flat as she cautioned her teammate: "Remain calm."

Lapis jumped in shock, then growled, "I am calm, okay?!"

She swung. She missed.

—

Game day. First game of the season. Boreals at Flames.

Ruby took her spot at first base.

The Boreals' first batter up made Ruby's heart skip a beat. She was tall, with long slender legs underneath her blue skirt. Her long, straight hair was dyed a light blue and made a sharp contrast against her dark skin.

The commentators called her Sapphire.

Sapphire shook her hair out of her face to reveal an eyepatch, the same dark blue as the Boreals' colors. She swung at the pitch and hit a grounder.

Ruby was still staring. She didn't move in time.

—

The pitch was as clear as day in Sapphire's mind's eye. The wind wasn't right for a home run, so she hit the ball to the ground and took off running. At her top speed, she would just make it to first base before the shortstop could throw the ball to the first basewoman.

She was moving too fast, and too focused on the outcome of the play, to notice what was happening right in front of her. Just in front of first base, the basewoman was standing and staring.

Sapphire crashed into Ruby. They sprawled to the ground together.

—

"Haven't seen a move _that_ bad in a while," Amethyst chuckled from the commentators' booth. "What's the ruling, Periscope?"

"Ahem." Peridot adjusted her mic. "If the batter-runner is obstructed before reaching first base, the ball is dead. She's advanced to second base. Ooh, look, the Flames' first-basewoman is _hopping mad_ , Amethyst!"

Down on the field, Ruby was pacing around her base and pulling at her own hair in frustration. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Sapphire stared down the baseline at Ruby. She hadn't seen that coming—not even a glimpse.

This season was going to be be an interesting one.


End file.
